Received this email newsletter from Charles Wood of the Pensacola Chamber:
This email is the result of a renewed effort to push information out about our economic development efforts to our members. This email is only provided to our Core Level members and above however, the information included is not considered confidential and can be forwarded to other individuals that may be interested in our efforts. Below are some highlights of our workload during the month of March 2009:
Project Activity
We sent out 7 proposals in March. Those proposals were primarily in two target industry sectors: aerospace & defense and renewable energy. One was a German company and five of the projects were looking for existing manufacturing and assembly space of 100,000 square feet or larger.
An optimistic note: The facilities that are available for these projects are a result of corporate downsizing and were generally in industries that were not high growth sectors, the industries looking at these facilities now are in growth sectors with higher average wages. This creates significant opportunity for Escambia County and Pensacola to be repositioned toward industries that will grow over the next 15 to 30 years.
Wayne Dalton – After originally considering revoking Wayne Dalton’s tax abatement in 2008, the County Commission unanimously voted to continue the company’s abatement in light of the current economic crisis. Currently the company is maintaining about 150 employees and plans to continue at this level and has actually pulled a small customer support office into Pensacola adding 8 jobs which were given to Wayne Dalton Employees that were laid off earlier this year.
Site Selection Consultant Trip
In order to keep our activity level strong we spend quite a bit of time on the road talking about business opportunities in the Pensacola Bay Area. Last month we headed off to New York and northern New Jersey to remind several site selection consultants that it was still warm and sunny in Pensacola, Florida.
While they confirmed what we already knew, which is there are not a lot of projects out there right now, they indicated that it was very good that we were out selling our community and preparing ourselves for projects that may gear up when the economy takes an upturn. Not only were they appreciative of us braving the snow and ice, but they also provided some insight into industries that are faring better than others (renewable energy to name one).
Local Technology Growth Continues
Our tech companies are continuing to grow despite the current economic climate. Check out the Business Journal article on local technology growth taking place in the Pensacola Bay Area. The article “Homegrown Tech Companies Emerge as Major Players” spotlights some of our key technology companies, their founders and how they’re growing.
The Bad News
I recently received some feedback that we may have our rose colored glasses on a little too often. We can’t kid ourselves, it is rough out there and the new unemployment stats for February show the MSA unemployment at 9.3% (just below the state’s 9.4% number) and Escambia County’s at 9.6%.
Last month 27 of the 67 counties in the state had unemployment rates above 10% with the highest unemployment felt in Flagler County, just South of Jacksonville at 14.2%. So, if you’re doing well, be thankful and if you’re not hang in there. There are signs out there that start to look a little brighter including recent jumps in the stock market, increases in housing purchases and for us, an increase in prospect activity…I guess my rose colored glasses may be harder to take off than I thought.
International Focus
We are increasing our international focus in terms of both trade and recruitment opportunities. A couple of key events last month included:
German Visit – Andrea Moore, Enterprise Florida’s regional international trade representative who is housed in the Chamber was responsible for bringing the Director and Deputy Director of Enterprise Florida’s Germany office to Pensacola last month.
They are Florida’s “boots on the ground” in Germany and assist Florida companies with exporting to Germany as well as work with German companies on foreign direct investments in Florida. They met with several local companies as well as Craig Dalton and myself to discussion international trade and economic development opportunities in the region. Note: Germany has the world’s third largest economy.
Swedish – American Business Expo – I attended Fort Walton Beach’s first Swedish Business Expo last week. Almost 100 attendees were at the event which is a result of an existing sister tennis tournament and evolving sister city relationship between Kristinehamnn, Sweden and Fort Walton Beach and has now added an international trade component to the event. Several Swedish businesses attended as well as the President and staff from the Swedish American Chambers of Commerce USA.
Andrea Moore, Enterprise Florida’s regional international trade rep who is housed in the Chamber was very involved in the effort and was in Sweden to give a presentation on our region in June last year. Note: Sweden is home to several major international businesses including AstraZeneca, Ericsson, SAAB, Volvo and is a major player in renewable energy.
Please feel free to email me if you have questions on the above items or would like me to provide updates on specific topics next month. Our economic development efforts are primarily funded by our foundation investors but are supported by our members and this email is meant to provide increased awareness of our activities and initiatives that are geared toward increasing primary job creation and capital investment in the Pensacola Bay Area. Please feel free to contact Meredith Robinson at mrobinson@pensacolachamber.com if you are interested in becoming an investor in our economic development foundation.
Sincerely,
Charles Wood, CEcD
Senior Vice President -Economic Development
Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce
cwood@pensacolachamber.com